Americans filed the fewest loan applications to buy homes in more than two years last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, which said its seasonally adjusted purchase mortgage index for the week ended Feb. 10 fell 7.9 percent to 391.7 from the previous week.

The index, seen as a proxy for current home sales, was at its lowest level since the week ended Dec. 26, 2003, when it hit 390.1, the association said.

“We are certainly hearing from lenders that business is slowing down. That's consistent with our forecast,” said Doug Duncan, the group's chief economist.

Reuters

Trials can resume for Tysabri

Biogen Idec Inc. and Elan Corp., makers of the multiple sclerosis medication Tysabri that was withdrawn from the market over safety concerns, said that federal regulators have agreed to let them resume clinical trials of the drug.

They expect to hear from the Food and Drug Administration by late next month on an application they submitted last September to resume marketing Tysabri with a revised label and a plan to address patient risks.

The companies said they expect in coming weeks to begin an extension of a trial study of Tysabri that the companies halted last February, at the same time that they withdrew the drug from the market. Patients who previously took part in a final phase of the study will be eligible to return to it.

Associated Press

Deal reached on insider trading

A former Maxim Pharmaceuticals Inc. consultant agreed to pay more than $44,000 to settle charges that he traded on inside information about the effectiveness of the company's Ceplene cancer drug in clinical trials, the Securities and Exchange Commission said.

Dr. Sanjiv Agarwala, director of the melanoma program at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, settled with the SEC without admitting or denying wrongdoing. He was a researcher for San Diego's former Maxim, which has since merged with EpiCept Corp.

Agarwala traded on three occasions in Maxim stock based on insider information related to successful and unsuccessful clinical trial results, and used his father's brokerage account to do it, according to the SEC.

Delphi may move on union pacts

Auto supplier Delphi Corp. must decide by tomorrow whether to ask a bankruptcy court judge to void its union contracts. The action could trigger a damaging strike, but after twice delaying the request to appease its unions and General Motors Corp., some analysts predict Delphi will stick to its deadline to prove it means business.

“We believe management may now well prefer to add urgency to discussions by beginning the formal court process to terminate,” JPMorgan auto analyst Himanushu Patel said in a note to investors.

Delphi says its union contracts are not competitive and it wants its U.S. workers to agree to lower wages. But if a judge throws out the contracts and Delphi imposes lower pay, the United Auto Workers has vowed to strike. That could end up costing GM, Delphi's former parent and largest customer, billions of dollars, according to analyst estimates.

Associated Press

Mission Valley offices purchased

Maguire Properties, a Los Angeles real estate company, purchased Pacific Center, a 6.4-acre office campus in Mission Valley, for $149 million – or $337 per square foot. Pacific Center, located at 1455 Frazee and 1615 Murray Canyon, includes two 10-story office buildings totaling 441,237 square feet and a six-story parking structure. The project is 84 percent leased. Maguire bought the property from DRA Advisors – an investment fund manager based in New York.

Newmont Mining to settle suit

Newmont Mining Corp. agreed to pay Indonesia $30 million as part of an agreement to end a civil lawsuit over allegations the company polluted a bay. The deal will have no impact on the ongoing criminal trial of the Denver-based gold mining giant's top local executive on charges stemming from the same allegations at a now-defunct mine on Sulawesi Island.

The agreement requires Newmont's local subsidiary to pay $30 million over 10 years.